the things we took for granted
by roses for marianne
Summary: After the explosion, Fred is left in a coma at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. However, they refuse to inform the Weasley family because there is very little chance he will wake up or survive. However, Hermione knows and the guilt of not being able to say anything is killing her inside. Can she keep the secret and will Fred ever awake? /To be edited.
1. Prologue

_Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub._

Fred lay abandoned in the Great Hall as his friends and family were outside.

Madame Pomfrey walked over to him to check his status. She slipped out her wand and waved it over him, uttering an unfamiliar spell. If the tip of her wand glowed red, he was dead. If it glowed green, he was (barely) still alive.

She examined her wand when it suddenly glowed bright green. Her eyes popped out like a goldfish's for a brief moment before calling for another healer to carry Fred and apparating with them both to St. Mungo's.

Fred Weasley was taken up in St. Mungo's and as soon as he did, Madame Pomfrey returned to Hogwarts and continued dealing with the rest of the injured and dead.

She bumped into Hermione Granger going into the Great Hall.

"Where is Fred? He was here a couple minutes ago." The matron put both her hands on Hermione's shoulders and whispered,

"He's alive. We just finished getting him to St. Mungo's." An instant smile appeared on her face.

"Is he alright? We should go tell his family right away!"

"Please, you must understand. I can't. Those poor people have suffered enough. It's still a mystery if he'll ever wake up again. He might be in a coma and if he dies…" Hermione's smile faded and she nodded solemnly.

"I understand. I won't tell them about any of this. But please tell me if his condition changes."

"You will be the first to know, Miss Granger." Madame Pomfrey walked away as Hermione absorbed the words she said.

It felt so wrong that she would be the first to know if anything happened with Fred instead of his actual family. ...Instead of… George.

What would she tell them when they ask where he went? She could lie and feign ignorance, but she was so awful at lying.

Ron was motioning her to come over there where his older brother was supposed to be. She took in a deep breath and walked.

"Fred's gone! Where is he? Do you know anything about this, Hermione? I mean, he's supposed to be…" Ron left out the last word for George's sake.

She shook her head and hoped that was satisfactory enough for an answer.

His parents were inquiring about Fred to the matron, wanting to know where their son went, if he could go anywhere.

Madame Pomfrey feigned ignorance as well. Percy was saying that there was no doubt he was dead as he saw his younger brother die in front of him, which helped Madame Pomfrey's and Hermione's cause.

They began to insinuate that someone stole his body, as if anyone was that insane. George became enraged, vowing to kill the person who would dare do such a thing.

Eventually, they all returned to the Burrow, except for George, and continued to discuss why and who would steal Fred's corpse. Hermione didn't want to join in as she was afraid that the information Madame Pomfrey had leaked to her would spill, feigning ignorance every time they asked her opinion concerning Fred.

She stood up, attracting everyone's attention in the living room. "Can I please excuse myself? I can't think about this anymore." They obligated and she ran upstairs to the bedroom the Weasleys allowed her to use.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Hermione Granger. This will most definitely not end up well." She muttered to herself before throwing herself on the bed and closing her eyes immediately.


	2. Chapter 1

The next day, Hermione planned on visiting Fred to see how he was doing. She was sure that he wouldn't be awake when she did visit, but she couldn't help, but expect him to be up and grinning. He'd be telling her not to worry and ask how the rest of the family was. He would tell her jokes that she couldn't get, but smile stupidly anyway. Hermione knew she was preparing herself for disappointment, but lying down in bed all day was just something that Fred didn't do.

Hermione dressed herself in semi-formal attire for no reason whatsoever. She could just wear a sweater and jeans and Fred probably wouldn't even be awake to see it, but she walked downstairs with a cream sleeveless formal dress shirt, a black skirt, and beige flats. Her outfit nearly screamed, "going out."

As expected, they questioned her. Ginny, who had been reading a Muggle magazine in the living room, threw it aside and asked Hermione, "Nice outfit. Going somewhere?"

She really couldn't deny it. "Yes. I'm going look for my mom and dad." Hermione told her that she erased her parents' memory of her, so Ginny left her be, thinking that it was a sensitive topic.

"I wish you all the luck in the world. I'll tell Ron if he ever wakes up." Hermione had been clever and took to sneaking to St. Mungo's early in the morning when Ron couldn't possibly be up.

She smiled, but her voice was caught in her throat. Hermione didn't like lying, especially to friends and near-family. The guilt had riddled her dreams and it threatened to spill the secret out of her mouth. Once Ginny looked away, Hermione ran out of the Burrow, gasping for air. She clutched her face and nearly cried. She shook her head firmly to try and snap out of it. Pulling out her wand, Hermione quickly apparated to St. Mungo's.

She approached the reception and spoke to a young brunette witch.

"Hello, welcome to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Are you looking to check in or visit a patient? How may I assist you?"

"I'm here for Fred Weasley. He was brought here from Hogwarts."

"You're family?"

"...Yeah." After all, she eventually would join the Weasley family.

"He's in room 401. That's four floors up and the first to your right." Hermione glanced down the first hall, seeing healers carry out a young wizard who had a swollen black eye and was apparently blind in the other. He had several bruises and was recognized as fellow Hogwarts student Justin Finch-Fletchley. Hermione felt instantly sad for him. She didn't know him well, but that didn't mean anything.

She stared at him for several moments before the brunette receptionist snapped her fingers and brought Hermione back to her attention. "You did want to see Fred Weasley?"

"Y-yes! I did. Thank you! Room 401, fourth floor, first on the left?"

"The right."

"R-right, right… Thank you." Being fairly embarrassed, Hermione went up to the fourth floor, going into the room on the right.

There was a healer already there. It was a woman who looked slightly older than herself. She looked up from her patient when she heard the door open.

"Hello. Hermione Granger, am I correct? Madame Pomfrey already told me." The healer walked closer to Fred. "He has sustained much damage throughout his body. Most of the damage was accumulated by the skull, which is not a good thing. With these injuries, it will take weeks for him to completely heal, maybe months. And whether or not it's actually necessary is up for review. There is a giant possibility that he will never wake."

"Please!" The woman whipped her head at Hermione's outburst. "You have to keep him alive at all costs. He has a family who cares about him and loves him. And his twin, George… He'll be absolutely devastated if Fred doesn't survive."

The healer kept silent for a few moments before answering, "...But they already think he's dead. Perhaps it's better to let them move on."

Tears escaped her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. She violently shook her head. "No. He has to live. Please. I'll do anything."

The healer sighed and brushed her shoulder saying, "Fine. We'll keep him alive as long as possible." The woman left. She felt relieved that at the least, the hospital would keep him here.

Hermione did feel the pang of disappointment when she saw that Fred wasn't up already. He was laying comfortably in his hospital bed with his eyes closed. She just hoped it wouldn't stay closed for very long.

Looking around, Fred's hospital room was big. His bed where he laid on unconscious was pushed far to the right. There were large rectangular windows on the far wall, but red curtains covered them completely, making it very dark without the lights on. There were counters, cupboards, and a sink in the right corner and the left had the door to the bathroom and there a small table surrounded with small green chairs stood.

Hermione's first order of business was to cut off the lights and push all the curtains to each side, filling the room immediately with sunlight. There was a table to the right of Fred's bed that held a small lamp and a glass vase, to fill with flowers. She made a mental note to bring flowers one day. She dragged one of the neon green chairs from the table and put it to the left of Fred.

Now what to do...

It was boring to sit in a room with a man in a coma who couldn't converse with you.

Her stomach grumbled. An hour had passed with her in the room and she hadn't even had breakfast yet. There was a visitors' tearoom in the next floor where she could possibly get some breakfast.

The food there wasn't enough to fill her stomach, but she didn't feel famished anymore. Hermione went to check back on Fred when she was done, but he was still trapped in his mind, hopefully not forever.

She once again plopped herself on the green chair next to Fred and laid her head on his bed.

"Fred. You have to wake up. I can't do this. I can't. I am so bad at lying and I feel so guilty about lying especially to your family. They think you're dead. I know you're not, Fred, because one pathetic little Death Eater could never stop you. No one can stop you. Not Umbridge, not Voldemort, and especially not Augustus Rookwood." She said the Death Eater's name with venom in her tone. "And that explosion? Talk about little. I mean, you couldn't possibly die because of one little explosion. I don't think you could be rid of that easily." She mentioned the explosion as little even though it did destroy an entire wall. She began to feel better, even though he couldn't respond back.

"This is what I like about you, Fred. You're so... I don't even know the words, but even though you can't talk to me, I feel better after I talk to you. I can hear you laughing now. It's so natural to. I can hear you boasting about yourself. It's so like you."

"When I saw you in the Great Hall before you came here, my brain exploded. I could not believe that you, of all people, would be dead. I had great expectations of you, Frederick Gideon Weasley. You and George would be together after all of us had gone. That's how it's supposed to be. You two live together and you die together, but, Hell, you would never let any of us see you two kick the bucket."

Hermione turned her head in Fred's direction. "I know you're still in there. I know you can wake up. You should. You've worried everyone already, don't go worrying me. Now wake up, Fred, and be with your family again." She closed her eyes. "Or I'll Stupefy you into next year." The last words faded as she drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 2

The sun retreated back into the blazing horizon. The moon came out, being a gentle light in the darkness.

Hermione stirred and lifted her eyelids. Looking to get her bearings, she was discovered that she had slept through the day. Fred was still quietly sleeping beside her. Hermione rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Her stomach grumbled again to her hunger. Having nothing to check the time with her, Hermione slowly made her way back to the first floor, back to the brown haired receptionist.

"E-Excuse me… What time is it?" Hermione nearly slurred her words, which was something she almost never did.

"It's very late, ma'am. Ten to midnight." It hit her as hard as a train.

"11:50?! Oh my… Merlin!" Her hands padded her clothes, searching for her wand. She whipped out her wand so fast, yet couldn't grip it, it slid away from her. Frustrated even more, Hermione snatched her wand from the floor as soon as she could and apparated back.

The second Hermione arrived at the entrance of the Burrow, the contents of her stomach nearly emptied. Her focus had not been strong enough and she felt dizzy. Her hands searched the door for the handle and her body reeled with it as she pushed the door forward.

As soon as her comrades saw the condition she was in, they stopped everything they were doing and ran to assist her.

"Hermione!" Harry was the first to reach her. Hermione tried to get up, but the dizziness was hard to overcome. He and Ron helped her up and onto one of the couches. Her hands immediately went to her mouth, afraid that she would retch.

Seeing that, Ginny dragged a small trash bin over to where she laid on the couch.

"Hermione, what do you need?" asked Harry, concerned.

"N-Nothing. I just- I wasn't focused enough when I apparated is all. I-I'm fine. Really." Harry looked at her with uncertainty.

"Really, Harry. I'm alright." Harry wasn't so sure about that, but he trusted Hermione. He stood up with his arms towards her.

"Can you sit up?" She shook her head very gingerly and forced herself against a couch cushion. Harry's arms fell to his sides.

"Are you in any pain?" asked Ron, who was behind the couch.

"No. Just a tad dizzy is all." All three scoffed. Typical Hermione.

"A tad dizzy?" Ron laughed. "Don't you think you're downplaying that? I mean, we all thought you were going to heave."

"I'll go get mum. Maybe she has something for dizziness and nausea." Ginny went to search for their mother.

Harry sat down on the left of her while Ron jumped over the couch's crest rail, settling on Hermione's right.

"How did this even happen? I mean… You usually don't bungle apparition. Something must have happened."

"Harry, I was panicking because I thought I was going to return here late and make everyone worry."

"Oh." intervened Ron. "Then, what were you doing before you apparated?" Hermione groaned in frustration. She quickly stood.

"Merlin! You ask so many questions, Ron. I was just trying to find my parents, okay?! Didn't Ginny tell you that?"

Harry and Ron were taken aback with Hermione's mood whiplash. "What's the matter with you today, Hermione?" Ron asked rudely.

"It's nothing, Ronald Weasley. Don't worry about me." Both Harry and Ron knew Hermione only referred to Ron by his full name only when he vexed her. Only they didn't know why.

Hermione was about to go upstairs when she was called by Molly Weasley. She almost forgot that Ginny had asked her mum to help with Hermione's dizziness.

As soon as Hermione came into the dining room, Mrs. Weasley said, "Oh, sit, sit. I have just the thing for dizziness." She motioned Hermione to sit at the chair with a bowl in front of it. Hermione had no choice but to smile and do as she said.

Looking inside the bowl, she noticed the contents were green and soupy. She flashed a nervous smile and asked, "Wh-What is it?"

"It's a family recipe. My mother used to make this soup for us whenever my brothers or I would get dizzy playing outside. It's an aphrodisiac. Go on. It's good for you."

Molly really hadn't answered Hermione's question, but Hermione couldn't just question her. After all, she did mean well.

A tad reluctant, she dipped the spoon into the bowl and sipped the soup that she collected on her spoon. The taste was surprising. It did not taste bad, but it had a horrific aftertaste. Alas, Hermione forced a smile.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley."

"It's no problem at all. You should stop feeling dizzy in a few minutes. Do you need help getting to your bedroom?" Hermione pushed the chair back and stood up.

"N-No. But thank you anyways. I think I can manage."

She struggled to walk straight and Bill offered his assistance as she made her way up the stairs, but refused it kindly. Once she was in the bedroom, Hermione shut the door closed and managed to move to the bed before her body lost against gravity, nearly throwing herself on the bed.

But the soup that Mrs. Weasley brewed did clear up her dizziness.

Hermione was tired and her eyelids felt like lead. Rest was well appreciated.


	4. Chapter 3

Unfortunately, Hermione did not get up as early as she desired. By the time she woke, everyone else was already awake and around the house except for George and Percy.

There was no way she could ever understand the pain George was going through, so Hermione thought it was best to give him time. She yearned to tell him that Fred was alive and see that perpetual frown of his flip upside down. She knew it might not be the best thing. Fred was still asleep and it might have been best to let George move on, however long it could take, and she knew it would be a long time before that happened. Percy, on the other hand, felt guilty and took the blame for Fred's "death." He was much more lively than George, but he, too, looked sorrowful all the time nowadays.

The war took a lot from them. Harry and George the most. Harry lost so many friends throughout the Second Wizarding War and George thought that the other half of himself had died in that wretched Battle of Hogwarts.

Hermione was irate to see that she had woken up so late. She had to see Fred again and Harry and Ron knew whenever she lied. Plus, they probably wanted to question her for her behavior last night.

Once she was casually dressed, Hermione bolted to the front door as fast as she could so they couldn't see her, but as soon as her hand touched the metal of the knob, Harry and Ron addressed her.

"Where are you going in such a hurry, Hermione?" Ron inquired. She answered without making eye contact.

"I'm going to continue looking for my parents, Ronald-Ron." Harry gave her a sympathetic look that she couldn't see.

"Hermione. You can't undo the memory charm. I'm- We're sorry."

A stray tear streamed down her cheek. Her parents were every bit as important as Fred's health to her.

"I know… I just-I want to… see them again. Just once." Never sparing a glance towards her two best friends, Hermione left the Burrow somberly and apparated in front of St. Mungo's for another daily visit to Fred.

The receptionist recognized her and allowed her to go past without a word.

The door of Room 401 creaked slowly. The curtains were covering the windows again and there lay Fred. Still at the same position as yesterday. She sighed and closed the door behind her before moving the curtains back to fill the room with sunlight.

The chair that she sat on went unmoved. She plopped herself down and glanced at him. He was in such a sorry state and appeared thinner than before.

Hermione caught herself wondering if they fed him here while in his comatose state. They probably fed him nutrients through an IV like they did at Muggle hospitals although she had yet to find one anywhere. She wondered if he would deteriorate and grow thinner; appear scrawny even.

She couldn't picture him like that. All sickly and such.

Looking over to the table on the bed's right, Hermione spotted the empty vase and had forgotten to fill it. She'd no idea where to get flowers or what flowers to get. Perhaps she could get some advice from Ginny or Mrs. Weasley.

Now here she was left, with an empty room and an empty man. Hermione brushed back Fred's hair with her fingers and continued to talk to him as if he could listen.

She continued to speak her thoughts and worries and he lay unmoving, eyes closed.

This continued for many days and nights.

Two months passed by with barely a flicker.

Hermione went to see Fred at St. Mungo's everyday, using her parents' memory as a guise to get away and never accepted any help. Percy eventually got better with aid from family and friends who took the guilt off him. George never got any better though. He continued to lock himself away in he and Fred's bedroom with only Ginny having the bravery to march into his room and force feed him. They all became worried for George. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the joke shop he and Fred started was never visited by him and overall began to collect dust.

Eventually even Hermione got sick of George's apparent lack of life.

Every morning started the same. George locked himself in his room at the Burrow. Hermione went downstairs and apparated to St. Mungo's to see how Fred was coming along and came home at almost the same time before Ginny went to force food down George's throat with tears flooding down her cheeks like a river.

She voiced her worries about George to an unconscious Fred and begged him to wake up.

"Fred! You need to wake up! George is not getting any better than you are. He's always locked up in that room of his. Every dinner time, Ginny is forced to shove food down his throat just so he doesn't starve! Do you see how bad this is getting, Fred?!"

Hermione sighed in defeat and plopped herself back down in the same green chair beside Fred and laid her head down on his bed.

"Please. Please wake up. I'm begging you, Fred. I rarely beg, so do you see how much George worries me? Oh, this is an absolute nightmare!"

She received the typical reply. Nothing. Just silence from a comatose Fred.

Hermione dampened the sheets with tears. Bright yellow carnations occupied the vase that sat on a nearby table.

The day passed with its usual silence and Hermione returned to the Burrow the usual time.

She bumped into Ginny while she was heading to Fred and George- George's room.

"Hey Hermione. How's the search for your parents going?"

"It's going well. They actually moved, but I've managed to track them down to six houses. Tomorrow, I'm going to check them out."

"I'm glad for you. I'm just… going to feed George." Hermione immediately grimaced.

"Is he… getting any better while I'm out?" Ginny gave a tiny smile.

"No… but he shouldn't remain like this for long."

"I see. I hope he gets better soon." Ginny nodded.

"Us too."

Hermione went into her room as George groaned upon seeing Ginny holding a plate of food in his doorway.

She was grateful for the rest she was able to get after every troubled day.

The next morning, half of the Weasley family (and Harry) was up by the time Hermione awoke.

She groggily walked to the living room where most of everyone awake was.

"Good morning, Hermione!" cheered her best friend Harry. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah… Why do you ask?" asked Hermione, rubbing sleep out of her eyes, slightly confused.

"Mail just came for you. It was from St. Mungo's Hospital."

Her eyes immediately popped wide open on the aspect of mail from where Fred was laid up.

"Where is it?" She almost yelled. Harry stood up from the couch and handed it to her.

She tore it frantically and read the letter inside.

_Dear Ms. Hermione Granger,_

_Since you are responsible for Mr. Fred Weasley, it was urgent we sent you important news on his condition right away._

_As if by a miracle, your client, Mr. Fred Weasley, woke from his comatose state this morning at the time of 5:37AM. You should come to St. Mungo's right away. Bring any of his known family members if you can._

_Sincerely,_

_Healer Mirania Watson_


End file.
